Lan Yin then appeared out of nowhere,
"Then I will announce that regrettably master has lost"
Yan Hu heard this and shook his head,
"Nothing regrettable about it, I hope to see you guys at Sovereign Sect fully"
He waved his hand and then started to walk away. Then Lan Qiang saw this and nodded, waving his hand goodbye while they walked away. Then he turned to Hou and Hamar,
"Let's keep on going then!"
For the next week, the trio of Hou, Hamar and Lan Qiang would run through the testing ground sparring every opponent they saw. If opponents didn't want to spar, they would fight normally or just accept and leave it.
Doing so, on the outside the observers gave each member many points. Lan Qiang showed off his leadership and ability to work with others in combat. Hou showed off his versatility and strength. Hamar showed off his unique strength using aura.
After a week, a bell sounded out from the sky. Then all over the testing ground a male voice could be heard,
"Congratulations to everyone! You have all gone through the testing and those who passed will now be teleported away, those who lost, do not worry. This doesn't mean you are weak just not to our standard, try applying again later."
Then Hou spoke to Hamar and Lan Qiang,
"I guess we'll see if we passed,"
Lan Qiang let out a snort,
"If we don't, then I don't want to join Sovereign Sect. We were perfect, we showed off the strength and abilities needed, I'm sure of it."
Hamar crossed his arms,
"My talk about this, we know we'll pass. Let's just experience it."
Lan Qiang and Hou chuckled and nodded,
"Yeah, I guess so"
The trio then stood in the middle of a forest, looking up into the sky awaiting their results. Then all of a sudden, the world started to melt and turn to liquid.
Then a mist went over them and once the fog cleared, the world was reformed to a new location. It was a massive building with mountains in the back.
And right in front of them was a line of people, and around the group was all the other who passed. A total of perhaps a hundred.
Then a man with grey long hair spoke up. He had a lengthy beard and kind eyes, he looked old yet his voice was very young,
"Again, congratulations to everyone who is here, you all should be proud. Now you are all apart of the Junior Sovereign Sect. You are now all equal, don't attempt to use outside influence. In here you are all sect members, and for now all of the same grade."
Then a woman to the side of the man stepped forward. She wore a tight red dress and smoked a pipe. She spoke,
"You will all be split into a few different classes or groups. You are all grade one disciples and I expect you all to get along nicely."
Then, a man with white hair and red eyes, with pale skin stepped forward. He looked lethargic and barely kept his eyes open,
"Everyone I say the name off, step ups and follow me..." He yawned deeply for a few moments and continued, "Bi....Cha.....Hu Li....Lan Qiang.....Hei Feng...."
In the group of twenty or so names, all three of Hou, Hamar and Lan Qiang were called. Of course using their fake names, Hu Li and Hei Feng.
Along with all those who were called they moved through the crowd of people who passed and followed the pale man. They walked outside of the who area and did not go into the massive building behind them. Instead, they walked into the forest,
"My name is Fei Ye Xuan Sheng, you can just call me master Sheng. You are all now under my tutelage and will learn from me."
They continued to walk through the forest until an intangible change occurred. Nobody could tell when or how, but all of a sudden everyone noticed the forest had changed.
The trees no longer had leaves. They were bare and filly black, like burned by lightning. And in the sky in front of them, a massive gothic mansion pierced the sky.
Master Sheng looked duo and pointed,
"That's mine, that's also where you'll all stay. For today, just get to know everyone and get your rooms. I should give you these, they're badges that show you are a member of the sect, what grade and which teacher. They also serve as a navigation tool, they'll show you your room,"
He threw out a couple handfuls of badges, seemingly uncaring of where they land. But somehow they all landed to the right person, their name carved onto the façade.
"Well, see you all then," he yawned again then bowed.
As he bowed, he turned into a mist of blood which then erratically moved through the sky and into the atmosphere where he disappeared.
Lan Qiang was the first to speak,
"We should all stick together first, who knows if there's any monsters in this forest. We should all try to help each other while we get to the mansion there!"
While a few quiet agreed, a vocal minority shouted out. These were pre established groups who did not want to follow anyone else. They head Lan Qiang and walked off in their own.
Those who stayed were those alone and those who knew of Lan Qiang mostly. Since Lan Qiang and his group did not kill their opponents more people passed and were grateful towards his group. Because of this. They decided to follow his orders.
"We should have those with any protection abilities and the end, followed by close range. Followed by mid range, followed finally by long range. Organise yourself a in a circle."
Hou thought for a moment,
'Do I go to the outside, I don't think I have enough defensive abilities. I can use the liquid or atmosphere, or even fire and create a barrier but it's not anything I've practiced. This is a hole in my skills, I'll need to practice something when I'm free.'